♪ (punk rock music) ♪
♪ (Beck, "Heart Is a Drum") ♪
Indie music video.
Never heard this song before.
Should I have heard this? Is this popular?
♪ Free as a driving wheel ♪
Is that Beck?
Yes, I love Beck.
This is the guy that won that award that no one knows.
This is intense already.
What is that?
♪ You tried to run from trouble ♪
This is so hipster, I feel like.
It's artistic, I'll give him that.
♪ Your heart is a drum keeping time ♪
What?
Why was there an astronaut?
I'm so confused right now.
- ♪ As the light of day ♪ - Like, you just want to sway to it.
♪ Falling down across your lost highway ♪
It's kind of a good song, though. I'll give him that.
I like the song.
♪ You've lost your tongue when you fall from the pendulum ♪
Okay, now I really need to look into this new album.
(laughs) I like this.
Wait, why is he after the kids?
♪ Keeping time with everyone ♪
I'm enjoying this.
♪ Everyone ♪
It's about death, I'm pretty sure.
Why, I think it is about death.
Was that a dance move?
This is so sad.
I'm sure there's so many deep meanings behind this,
but almost all of them go over my head.
Hi.
What is happening?
No, don't give him flowers. Run! Run!
Don't kill the little girl.
And now they're pushing each other on the swing.
Best part. Okay, that just made the entire video.
What just happened?
I'm confused.
(Finebros) So any idea who that artist is?
No.
- No. - No.
Zero clue.
No. Who was it?
Beck?
It's Beck.
That is Beck.
(Finebros) Well, this artist has been
- making albums since the mid-'90s. - Oh.
That's a new song.
It's a shame that most of the kids in my generation
don't know about him.
(Finebros) And he's one of the most famous artists of our generation.
All right. Now I feel dumb.
Why have I not heard of him before?
(Finebros) We're now going to play you some of his earlier work.
Okay.
♪ In the time of chimpanzees ♪
Oh, yeah. I've heard this song.
The guy's back. Skull guy's back.
(singing along) ♪ The plastic eyeballs ♪
♪ Spray-paint the pantyhose [sic] ♪
Shoot. I know this.
Never heard this either.
♪ Yo ♪
Oh, man. This brings me back.
- ♪ Soy un perdedor ♪ - Oh, "Loser."
- (lip-syncing along) - ♪ I'm a loser, baby ♪
♪ So why don't-- ♪ Oh, it's Beck?
Oh, man.
- (Finebros) Do you know that song? - No. Not even a little bit.
♪ (Beck, "Where It's At") ♪
Sounds really familiar.
I've heard this.
"Where It's At." Yes, I'm so happy right now.
♪ Bottles and cans and just clap your hands ♪
♪ And just clap your hands ♪
♪ Where it's at! ♪
♪ I got two turntables and a microphone ♪
I've never seen any of these music videos,
but I've definitely heard the songs.
I want to jam out now.
(whispering along) ♪ Where it's at ♪
(robotic voice) ♪ I got two turntables and a microphone ♪
I have no idea what I just watched.
A little bit of a Dalek at the end there.
♪ Can't you hear those cavalry drums ♪
Is that Jack Black?
Was that seriously Jack Black?
♪ Breathing Freon ♪
Oh. Okay, then.
Okay. It's a fridge humping an oven till it explodes,
but it's okay 'cause it's Beck.
♪ The logic of all sex laws ♪
Like, my head is having a musicgasm right now.
He's playing a broom.
♪ Cry ♪
(laughing) It's a zebra.
It's weird, and I actually really like it.
You guys look really disappointed in me.
♪ (punk rock music) ♪
(Finebros) So do you have any idea who it is now?
- No. - No.
I know who he is in the songs, but I don't know his name.
Yeah, that's Beck.
- (Finebros) This is Beck. - Like Glenn Beck?
Beck. That's what it was.
I've heard his name come out of my dad's mouth.
Yeah, not ringing any bells.
- (Finebros) Have you heard of him? - No.
Nope.
I have heard of him, yeah.
Yes. Just recently from the awards.
Didn't Kanye say something?
Kanye was like, oh yeah, he didn't deserve something.
(Finebros) How do you know Beck?
I've known about Beck for a little while.
He made the song "Loser."
He was kind of one of the original alternative members.
He's brought out the quirky side of alternative.
(Finebros) How would you describe his musical style?
Strange.
Sounds like indie.
Eclectic, an acquired taste.
His older work was so much more upbeat.
His newer stuff seemed more like folky.
Versatile. I think he can adapt to what's good
and what he likes at the time.
(Finebros) He hadn't made a major album since 2008.
But then he made this new album in 2014,
where the first song was from,
which won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.
He won Best Album?
I have no idea who he is, and he wins Best Album of the Year?
(Finebros) And he beat out Beyoncé
and Pharrell and Sam Smith and more.
Are you surprised that Beck won Album of the Year
over those artists?
Yeah, kind of, 'cause there wasn't really a big hype for it.
Happy surprised, 'cause it's nice to see
that people still support him over time.
I don't really care for pop music.
So, you know, when I heard Beck won,
I was like, "Yeah! Awesome!"
I'm completely surprised. Usually the Grammys go on
what's really, really popular at the time.
I had no idea who he was until the Grammys.
And not until he won his Grammy did he get number-one album.
So I feel like Sam Smith and Beyoncé were a lot more deserving,
just because they worked just as hard
and they actually sold a ton of albums.
Just because it's pop music doesn't mean it's bad.
(Finebros) Well, when he won, Kanye West came on stage.
No. Are you serious? Again?
Yes. I saw that.
That's so mean of him.
He has no right to go up there and take away this guy's moment.
I think that Kanye is a horrible person.
(booming voice) Burn!
(Finebros) And he almost said something, and then he walked away.
Later he said that Beyoncé deserved to win,
though he also admitted he hadn't even listened to Beck's album.
(Madison scoffs)
What's with him and Beyoncé?
Jay Z should be legitimately concerned.
She could make the worst song in the world,
and he will say she deserves to win.
Well, that's kind of funny, though.
I feel like he's like the world's biggest troll.
It annoyed me, because if you really haven't listened to it,
how can you judge this?
Oh, that's just such a hypocrite,
'cause I'm thinking the same way.
I've never listened to Beck's full album,
yet I'm criticizing him.
Okay, like, me and Kanye are both wrong.
I feel like we shouldn't have an opinion on it
until we've actually heard Beck's full album and then decided.
(Finebros) So Beck's album sold a lot of records
and was even on the charts.
But despite the success of this album and it winning a Grammy,
it's not getting played on the radio...
Yeah, they always play the same four songs on the radio.
(Finebros) ...even though he used to
be played on the radio all the time.
Why do you think the radio is so narrow?
Because the radio feels like
they only should play the "relevant" stuff.
I don't know. I wish I knew the answer.
Most radio stations aim towards a younger audience.
The radio is good, but then it's bad,
because it only plays the top 10 songs,
and it plays them over and over and over.
We stopped listening to music because of the music,
and we started listening to it because of the artists.
Like, we don't listen to
Taylor Swift's new song because it's good.
We listen to it because it's Taylor Swift's new song.
The radio plays music that matches our society today.
And our society today is focused on ass.
You have no idea how disappointed I am with the teens my age.
They only stick to the pop radio stations,
'cause it's all catchy and they don't have to think about it,
as long as it sounds decent in the background.
Just explore it on your own.
Look at who you like, then look at their predecessors.
Look at what inspired them.
(Finebros) And what do you think about the idea
that this is going to happen to you when you get older?
There's gonna be major artists that you know,
that you'll grow up and teenagers will have no idea who they are?
Yeah, that's sad.
Hey, you know? I didn't think about that,
and I'm really not looking forward to it.
I understand my mom so much more now.
Oh no, that's so weird.
And you guys are probably all mad, huh?
You're like, "What do you mean, 'Who's Beck?'"
It does bother you to a certain extent,
because some artists make such an impact on your life,
and then people in the future
aren't going to get exposed to them at all.
It's kind of our job to show them,
these are all our good artists.
(Finebros) So finally, are you now
going to check out Beck's new album?
Um, realistically, probably not.
I'm sorry, Beck. I support you, you know?
It sounds cool, but it's just not my thing.
Absolutely.
Yeah! Yeah, most definitely.
I think I seriously am gonna sit down,
watch all his YouTube videos, probably download his album,
'cause he sounds really good. I like it.
I honestly thought that this was one of his first albums.
I had no idea, so that's so weird to me.
I'll probably listen to it now.
Have more respect for Beck.
Thanks so much for watching this episode of Teens React.
Bonus footage from this episode
will be coming out on the React channel,
so make sure to subscribe there.
Bye.
Goodbye. Look up some Beck.
Just do yourself a favor and look him up.